DIDX.net's Bowen Talks About the Value of Local Phone Numbers

For years industry pundits have talked about how there will at some point come a day in which we no longer need phone numbers. Years later, however, the phone number is alive and well. In fact, Suzanne Bowen co-founder of Super Technologies Inc., in an interview with TMC’s Rich Tehrani at ITEXPO said many businesses buy phone number services from her company to provide their customers with local numbers.

“People would like a presence outside where they actually work and live and play because they have very important people in that area, so DIDs are around for a while,” said Bowen.

DID stands for direct inward dialing. And DIDX.net is the name of Super Technologies Inc.’s online platform that thousands of wholesale IP communications companies from 149 countries use to buy and sell DID phone numbers. These numbers, which DIDX offers from 59 countries, can be set to ring H.323 endpoints, some IM messengers, PSTN endpoints, and/or SIP endpoints.

Many organizations use DIDs so they can provide their customers and prospects with a local number to call, explained Bowen, adding that callers don’t feel comfortable using Skype and similar tools when they are dealing with a company with which they are not familiar. Some businesses also leverage DIDX.net to get vanity numbers, she said.

Super Technologies launched for business in 1999 with a Vonage-like service called Super Phone, Bowen explained. But she said the company at the time didn’t have investment Vonage had, so it evolved to a DID marketplace. At first it was working mostly VoIP companies, CLECs, and some mobile operators, she said. But now it’s working more with MVNOs, UC solution providers, and companies like Acrobits.

Discussing some of the recent developments from Super Technologies, Bowen said the company is rolling out a new and simpler DIDX.net sign up interface. It’s also increasing its footprint for incoming SMS. At first Super Technologies offered incoming SMS support just in parts of the U.S., she said, but now it’s being expanded to a larger part of the U.S., as well as in Canada, the U.K., and part of France. The company is also expanding the geographic reach of its local number porting capabilities, adding Bahrain, Chile, the Czech Republic, Indonesia, Luxembourg, Moldova, South Korea, Turkey, and Zimbabwe to the list.

Super Technologies is a standout in its product category due to its experience, its global footprint, and the fact that it has an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau in the U.S., said Bowen.

“DIDX appeals to all types of wholesale companies that have all kinds of customers,” Bowen added, explaining the company has a variety of packages and pricing that cater to businesses with both low use and very high volume requirements. “There’s a whole lot of choice on DIDX.”